How the UK recycles millions of dirty old disposable coffee cups

Startups, hopes and dreams: the real story of CES 2016

In a dingy, cluttered corner of CES, hundreds of startups are hoping to catch a break. Known as Eureka Park, this area may lack the bombast, bright lights and live DJs with which the Las Vegas show's bigger stands have become synonymous, but this is where the actual business gets done.

Since the startup showcase was introduced at CES in 2012, its exhibitors have raised over $1bn (£686m) in funding according to the Consumer Technology Association. And it continues to grow; from an initial 94 startups five years ago, the 2016 event crammed 500 companies into an increasingly stuffy exhibition space.

They come from all over the world, travelling thousands of miles to man their booths at CES. Against a wall of noise and thousands of potential buyers and investors, the startups have little to attract attention. A table, a couple of banners, an internet connection and, they hope, some eye-catching technology. As one startup founder put it, this is "the hall of hopes and dreams". And you can smell the perspiration. "This is the place to be, everybody is here," Hainiandry Rasamimanana, founder and CEO of Phonotonic tells WIRED. His company is one of 66 French startups hoping to stand out against the masses. Rasamimanana, attending his second CES in a row, says he's come again to try and expand his business. "It's important to be here every year to establish ourselves as a brand," he explains. But does the sheer scale of CES make it difficult to get noticed? "It could be difficult, but we meet a lot of great people. All the retailers we're working with today we met at CES last year."

Advertisement

WIRED

While the rest of CES is all high-ceilings and colossal, flashy booths, Eureka Park remains a claustrophobic, messy affair. The majority of the people crammed into the room are buyers and people from within the industry. Journalists, who swarm the rest of CES, are few and far between. CES is belatedly recognising that startups are often the drivers of huge innovation.

Read next

Governments keen to push their technology credentials are also starting to take note. The number of French startups at Eureka Park this year put it in second place in terms of exhibitors, behind only the US. Major investment from the French government through an initiative dubbed La French Tech saw 22 startups receive sponsorship to travel to Las Vegas.

WIRED

Advertisement

"It's a big challenge to be recognised. It's a big step for French startups to come here," says Rasamimanana. Part of their appeal, he argues, is the French knack for coming up with ideas that combine design, technology and creativity. "In France, CES is not so well known, but that's changing," Louis Ickx, co-founder of Smart Zeroes, one of the startups sponsored by the French scheme, explains. Ickx's startup is probably one of the youngest in the room, having only been founded three months ago. "We're here to get feedback on our project, but it'll be different for everyone," he says. "Others are trying to distribute their product in the US and find buyers." His project is a 3D printed wearable that captures the sound around a user in 3D, allowing someone to put on headphones and relive an experience. "It's a time machine," he jokes.

But is CES a good place to do that kind of business, especially for such small companies? "Yes. It enables you to go very fast. You have people from all over the world in the same place." It is an answer echoed throughout the startups exhibiting: you've got to be here, because everyone else is.

WIRED

Read next

Volkswagen's got a radical plan to fix ride-sharing and car ownership

ByKatia Moskvitch

The technology on show is an eclectic mix. From hoverboards and smartphone accessories to kitchen gadgets and wearables for pets. While all the booths are the same size, they range in showiness -- some have pumping music and flashing lights, others just a lone person sitting at a laptop next to a sign. Tokyo University's booth is more of the latter. "This is the first time we've shown the product in public," says research manager Shinri Sakai. His product, which already has an as-yet unnamed commercial partner in Japan, is printable, stretchable conductive ink for connected clothing.

Advertisement

WIRED

The silver paint can be applied to fabric and stretched to 260 percent its original size without loosing conductivity. Sakai explains this could be a breakthrough in the development of smart, connected sportswear. "Research results are very useful for consumer electronics," he says, but the two rarely collide at trade shows. "We are still researching, but there is a very good chance to connect the science to the application."

WIRED

Sakai and his team believe the technology could be on the market within a year, but are keen to have discussions with potential customers to find out what they might do with it. While we're speaking, a buyer interrupts keen to find out more. "This is going to be huge for wearables," the man says, before exchanging contact details. "The partner company is very interested to know the market size," says Sakai as the buyer walks away. "And, if the market size is very big, they may invest some money."

Read next

Many of the startups hoping to attract attention at Eureka Park aren't new, and some even have a small public profile. Throughout the hall, stickers proudly proclaim "Funded on Indiegogo", with the platform having a whole aisle dedicated to companies that broke through thanks to crowdfunding. But, for most, that's just the first step.

WIRED

"The pond is so big, but we're talking all day," says Aike Müller, co-founder of Dutch VPN hardware startup Keezel. He argues the "crowdfunding phenomenon" has had a huge impact on the sorts of companies that can exhibit at CES, as has the relative ease of hardware manufacturing.

Keezel, a small lozenge-shaped wireless VPN in a box, creates a secure connection on public Wi-Fi networks, allowing users to stay private. The company is one year old, having initially raised money on Indiegogo.

WIRED

Müller explains that some of that money has been used to get him and his colleague to Las Vegas. Their desk-sized booth, complete with internet connection, cost $2,300 (£1,500). Factor in flights, accommodation and food for a week and CES becomes a huge expense for small startups. But Müller is confident it is worthwhile. "CES is one of the three shows that are important to us," the others being Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and IFA in Berlin. "It's a great opportunity to meet up with your whole team."

Advertisement

With freelance designers and engineers spread around the world and manufacturing in China, it is only in Las Vegas that they all get together at the same time. "I think that's useful," says Müller.

But, through all the positivity, there's a palpable sense of unease. For many startups, especially those from outside the United States, coming to CES is still a risk. On the other side of Las Vegas companies such as Intel and Samsung seem almost too big to fail, but the startups desperate for a deal are almost too small to succeed.